The United States Marine Corps

[vor033]

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire M240B machine guns during live-fire training aboard USS Pearl Harbor here June 7.

Marines with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit fire M240B machine guns during live-fire training aboard USS Pearl Harbor here June 7.

[vor033]

Marines with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion fire M2 .50-caliber machine guns attached to turrets on Advanced Man Portable Air Defense System gun trucks aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 7. Marines practiced static shooting at targets of different distances.

A Marine practices unloading and clearing a 240B machine gun during a training exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 7. Marines of 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion took classes about general knowledge of the weapon and performed a practical application test before firing live rounds.

A section leader with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion instructs a new Marine on how to properly clear a 240B machine gun during a training exercise aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 7. Marines took classes about general knowledge of the weapon and performed a practical application test before firing live rounds.

Marines with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion fire an M2 .50-caliber machine gun attached to turrets on an Advanced Man Portable Air Defense System gun truck aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 7. Marines practiced static shooting at targets of different distances.

Marines with 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion prepare for a live fire exercise with the M2 .50-caliber machine gun during training aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., June 7. Training with the crew serve weapons Marines with the weapon and allows them to practice aiming and tracking targets.

[Dave76]

One Good Man, 6 Weeks Better
Vintage Sunday (One Good Man, 6 weeks better) If you joined the Marine Corps when this first came out …
–Your commandant: Gen. Robert E. Cushman Jr.
–Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps: Sgt. Maj. Clinton A. Puckett.
–Monthly Base Pay: E-1 (344.10) O-1 (634.20)
–Major engagement: Vietnam War
–Prior to boot camp you might have worn Bell-bottoms and platform shoes
–President Richard Nixon resigns

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle
Vintage Sunday (M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle)
If you were issued this rifle when it first came out …
–Your Commandant: Maj. Gen. George Barnett
–Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps didn’t exist at this time.
–Your monthly base pay: E-1 (30.00)
–Major engagement: World War I.
–Al Capone becomes ‘Scarface’ after a knife-fight.
–Bolsheviks take control in Russia.

Civil War Recruiting Poster
Wanted for the U.S. Marine Corps: Able-bodied, sober, intelligent men.

From the Clouds
A Marine serving with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit's ground combat element, Battalion Landing Team 3/1 fast ropes out of a UH-1Y Huey onto USS Makin Island here May 31. The unit is deployed as part of the Makin Island Ready Group, a U.S. Central Command theater reserve force. The group is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
(U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Gene A. Ainsworth III)

[That_weird_guy]

Hope not a repost.



Edit: It's a repost...

[JC0352]

Going to San Diego this weekend for a quick vacation. Plan to visit MCRD and check out the museum; I haven't been out that way since recruit training and ITB back in 1999. Looking forward to it!

[Gunfighter-AK]

What's the latest on AA-12 testing? Everything went dark not long after it went public that the Marine Corps was testing it. It hasn't been cancelled or dropped. It's just disappeared.

What's the skinny, y'all?

[slobo]

Going to San Diego this weekend for a quick vacation. Plan to visit MCRD and check out the museum; I haven't been out that way since recruit training and ITB back in 1999. Looking forward to it!

It's a good museum. Good coverage of SpanAm though WWII uniforms and equipment as I recall.

[JC0352]

Yea, haven't seen it since I was a recruit. I should be able to appreciate the history in that place even more now!

[vor033]

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (June 18, 2012) -- More than 500 Marines and Sailors participate in the opening operation of Operation Mailed Fist, June 18. For many of the Marines involved in the Marine Air Ground Task Force it was their first time riding the CH-53E, Super Stallion.

Marines with Company C, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, discuss final preparations before boarding a CH-53E Super Stallion on the flight line at Marine Corps Air Station New River, as part of Exercise Mailed Fist, June 18. More than 20 Marines were flown in two Super Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 to the North Carolina coast to conduct a helocast &'soft duck'

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (June 18, 2012) -- More than 500 Marines and Sailors participate in the opening operation of Operation Mailed Fist, June 18. For many of the Marines involved in the Marine Air Ground Task Force it was their first time riding the CH-53E, Super Stallion.

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION CHERRY POINT, N.C. (June 18, 2012) -- More than 500 Marines and Sailors participate in the opening operation of Operation Mailed Fist, June 18. For many of the Marines involved in the Marine Air Ground Task Force it was their first time riding the CH-53E, Super Stallion.

Chief Petty Officer Matthew Murphy, corpsman with Company C, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, pauses during a flight aboard a CH-53E Super Stallion, June 18. Murphy, a Hornell, N.Y., native, and more than 20 Marines were flown in two Super Stallions from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464 to the North Carolina coast to conduct a helocast &'soft duck'

Gunnery Sgt. Shawn D. Decker, platoon sergeant with Company C, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, signals his Marines to guide an inflatable raft out the back of a CH-53E Super Stallion, from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, into the water below off the North Carolina coast, as part of Exercise Mailed Fist, June 18. Decker, a San Diego native, and his Marines conducted a helocast &'soft duck.' Cpl.

Gunnery Sgt. Shawn D. Decker, platoon sergeant with Company C, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, jumps out the back of a CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, into the water below off the North Carolina coast, as part of Exercise Mailed Fist, June 18. Decker, a San Diego native, and his Marines conducted a helocast 'soft duck' '

Marines with Company C, 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, settle into inflatable rafts off the North Carolina coast after plunging into the water from the back of a CH-53E Super Stallion from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 464, as part as Exercise Mailed Fist, June 18. The Marines conducted a helocast &'soft duck.'

Capt. Brice Sanders, a CH-53E Super Stallion pilot with Marine Heavy Helicopter 464, flies over the North Carolina coast while observing another Super Stallion, and a KC-130J Hercules, from Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 252, fly as part of Exercise Mailed Fist, June 18. Exercise Mailed Fist is an annual large-scale exercise launched by the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing to hone the capabilities of the Marine Corps' East Coast aviation element.

[vor033]

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrols in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment is passed by an Afghan motorcyclist as he patrols in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrols in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment stand guard outside FOB (Forward Operating Base) Delhi after a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conducts a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment talks to Afghan children while conducting a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrols in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

An elderly Afghan walks past US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment while they conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

Afghan residents walk past US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment while they conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 29, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment start their patrol from FOB (Forward Operating Base) Delhi in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment start their patrol from FOB (Forward Operating Base) Delhi in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conducts a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conducts a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment conduct a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment looks on from a roof during a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 27, 2012

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment walks past graffiti reading, God, In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful, during a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 24, 2012.

[vor033]

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment looks through his scope while conducting a patrol at the Kalinoum village, west of Garmser, Helmand Province on June 23, 2012.

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment jumps over a ditch while conducting a patrol with Afghanistan National Army (ANA) soldiers in Kalinoum village, west of Garmser, Helmand Province on June 23, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrol along with Afghanistan National Army (ANA) soldiers in Kalinoum village, west of Garmser, Helmand Province on June 23, 2012.

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrol in Kalinoum village, west of Garmser, Helmand Province on June 23, 2012

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment patrols in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 24, 2012.

US Marine Lance Corporal Dylan Lee from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment stands inside a shop during a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 24, 2012.

Two US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment secure a roof during a patrol in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 24, 2012

US Marines from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment stand next to wall pockmarked with bullet holes while patroling in Garmser, Helmand Province on June 24, 2012

A US Marine from Kilo Company of the 3rd Battalion 8th Marines Regiment looks through his scope while conducting a patrol at the Kalinoum village, west of Garmser, Helmand Province on June 23, 2012

[vor033]

Javelin Thrust 2012 is an annual large scale exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., which allows active and reserve Marines and Sailors from 38 different states to train together as a seamless Marine Air Ground Task Force.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Cpl. Daniel Russo, a rifleman with Headquarters Company, 25th Marine Regiment, loads grenade rounds into a M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher prior to engaging targets on Range 104.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Dwyer, a rifleman with Headquarters Company, 25th Marine Regiment and an Arlington, Mass. native, fires grenade rounds with a M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher on Range 104.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Cpl. Daniel Russo, a rifleman with Headquarters Company, 25th Marine Regiment, loads grenade rounds into a M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher prior to engaging targets on Range 104.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Cpl. Daniel Russo, a rifleman with Headquarters Company, 25th Marine Regiment, sends grenade rounds down range with a M32 Multiple Grenade Launcher on Range 104.

[vor033]

Javelin Thrust 2012 is an annual large scale exercise at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif., which allows active and reserve Marines and Sailors from 38 different states to train together as a seamless Marine Air Ground Task Force.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Cpl. Sam Mincey, a squad leader with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, pauses to get accountability of his squad after completing a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment provide suppressive fire during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment maneuver through a trench during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Cpl. Sam Mincey, a squad leader with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, maneuvers through a trench during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment maneuver through a trench during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - A Marine with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment maneuvers from a trench to another firing position during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment maneuver a trench during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - A Marine with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment maneuvers a trench during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment provide suppressive fire during a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - A Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW) gunner with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment kneels during a patrol prior to executing a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - Marines with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment kneel during a patrol prior to executing a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - A Marine with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment kneels during a patrol prior to executing a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

TWENTYNINE PALMS, CALIF. - A Marine with Company G, 2nd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment kneels during a patrol prior to executing a squad level assault drill on Range 410A.

[vor033]

After days of laying defenses and keeping a vigilant eye, Marines of Company G., Battalion Landing Team 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, saw the outline of Australian Army 1st Brigade vehicles on the horizon. Fortified in the Raspberry Creek town here, the Marines endured through simulated heavy explosive strikes, tank rounds and .50 machine guns and repelled the enemy for 16 hours outside, and eventually inside, the buildings. At the end of the day the numerically-superior force took the town, but not without sustaining heavy losses and meeting tenacious resistance by the platoon reinforced of Marines - 5th July 2012

[Ace 227]

249+blanks= a no go, lol. I hate using that thing without live rounds.